From early influences to unforgettable gigs and future projects, Donnie shares her journey and creative evolution.
Donnie ©️2024
Today we have the pleasure to have Donnie at Goathead for a Q&A!
GH: Hi Donnie, welcome to Goathead! What inspired you to start writing music?
Donnie: Hey there, thank you for having me. Ever since I was little, I knew I wanted to make music, and I released my first song when I was 16, which was 8 years ago—crazy! My mom was in a band when she was younger, so she was a big influence on me musically. However, I wouldn’t say that anything in particular inspired me; I just always knew I wanted to sing and went after it.
GH: Can you tell us more about your experience performing live at gigs and what was the most memorable experience you had?
Donnie: To be honest, performing live is something that still scares me a lot, but once I step on stage, all the stress goes away. In the past, I’ve only performed live in the Czech Republic, and every show was an incredible experience. But the one experience I’ll never forget was my live show in Djerba, Tunisia, where I spent this past summer. It was my first show in years, and to top it off, it was in front of people from a completely different culture, so it was an unforgettable experience, and I owe it to my friend Mouhab, who made it possible.
GH: How is your process of songwriting set around?
Donnie: In the past, I only wrote songs when I was sad, and that really influenced the style of music I was creating. I was heavily inspired by Lana Del Rey, and I styled a lot of my music after her. But since I was writing in Czech, it was something no other female artist in the Czech Republic was doing at the time, so I think that helped me stand out early on. Now, however, my songwriting process has matured a lot, and as many people have noticed, my music style has changed drastically. Even though my songs are still about love, I want them to evoke more than just sadness. For example, performing live used to be tough because, as an artist, you want to see the audience enjoying themselves, and that’s hard with sad songs. But when I performed in Djerba with my newer songs, the vibe was definitely different and so much better.
GH: What motivates you to create music and bring awareness to different situations through your songs?
Donnie: The main reason I write is to express my emotions. What I don’t say out loud, I prefer to channel into my songs and create something out of it. It’s kind of like my coping mechanism; once I write a song about something, it’s resolved for me. It helps when I’m feeling down or when there’s a complicated situation in my life. As I’ve mentioned, I mainly write about love, but I’ve realized it’s important for me to balance writing about love, relationships, and emotional stuff with making songs that people can listen to and feel good. I no longer want to make just music that makes you want to cry. I want to create music that makes people feel confident, makes them want to dance, but still be able to relate to what I’m singing about.
GH: Could you share some insights into your next projects?
Donnie: Since I spent three years studying music in London and a few months on the island of Djerba this year, it’s had a huge impact on both me and my music, and it really motivated me. I’ve been releasing songs almost every month, so I want to take a two-month break now and focus more on the songs I’ve already released this year. I want to spend more time promoting the tracks I’ve put out because, in today’s world, it’s really hard to break through, and sometimes you have to do things as an artist that you don’t really want to do, like TikTok, which is influencing the music industry in its own way.
You can definitely look forward to at least one more song this year, which I’d like to release by the end of the year, but I don’t want to rush anything just to put something out. I’m curious and excited to see where my music takes me, and I hope next year will be amazing.
Don’t forget to follow Donnie on Instagram and listen to her music on all streaming platforms
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